The conventional manufacturing of photovoltaic solar cells for the production of electricity results in a thick, heavy combination of silicon, glass, metal and plastic that are called solar panels or solar cells. These solar panels often need some type of metal or concrete stand or framework to hold them at an optimum angle to the Sun's light radiation. Needing to be produced in polluting large factories with “clean-rooms”, vast labor forces, extensive tooling and equipment, conventional solar panels cannot be produced on a large-scale in an economic or efficient manner. Moreover, the transportation, installation and deployment of such conventional solar panels at the location of the final end-user is expensive and time consuming yet yields comparatively little in added solar power capacity that might actually have a significant impact upon our reliance on fossil fuels to generate the bulk of our electrical energy needs. In fact, to replace all the electricity generated by fossil fuels in the United States alone (approximately 2,644 TWH), over 500 sq. miles of the most efficient solar panels in production today would be required. This equates to more than 1.3 Billion separate, individual, one-meter square conventional solar panels. Each panel requiring costly, environmentally degrading and time-consuming manufacturing, transportation and installation processes. Obviously, to even approach the surface area of photovoltaic cells that would actually bring us an appreciable benefit, significant improvements are needed on all fronts—manufacturing, transportation and deployment. The embodiments described herein bring all these needed improvements to bear in one environmentally sound, cost effective, high-capacity, high-speed, scalable, modular, upgradable and efficient design.
Photographs of the large factories, labor forces and complicated, expensive manufacturing processes that are required in conventional solar cell production standards are shown herein as FIG. 9.
Photographs of comparatively small-scale and expensive deployments of conventional solar panel technology standards in “fields” or “farms” with concrete stands and steel framework are shown herein as FIG. 10 on page 1 of the document “Concept for a Modular Photovoltaic Printer”, which is attached as Appendix 1 to the '688 application, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.